In most respects, China a world away from the oil-dominated autocracies in the Mideast now seething with anti-government unrest. But it faces similar issues: high inflation and a troubling wealth gap that could fuel social upheavals, if Beijing doesn't make some big changes.

China's economy is booming, and Western nations are increasing their demands that its currency be allowed to rise to its natural value. Who knows if that will happen, but if you want to bet that it will, the Bank of China just made it easier: Now, Americans can open renminbi-denominated accounts.

While the U.S. struggled with near-10% unemployment, China grew at that same pace over the past year. But the country faces massive internal problems that leave it in a far more difficult situation than the praise constantly heaped on it implies.

There's no obvious end in sight to the tension between North and South Korea that recently rattled world markets. But Kim Jong-il may have embarrassed his patrons in Beijing too much this time, and pushed his neighbors to the south too far. Could real change be coming to the Korean Peninsula?

With the latest round of global climate change talks set to begin this week in Cancun, Mexico, the assembled delegates should be thankful they're not meeting in, say, Beijing or New Delhi. Those two cities are tied at the top of a list no city should want to be on: those with the world's worst air quality.

Last month, China said it would loosen the tight link between its currency, the yuan, and the U.S. dollar. It was a move welcomed by economists and world leaders who felt China was engaging in unfair currency manipulation. But on Wednesday, the government in Beijing backpedaled a bit.

If you think China's decision to unpeg its currency from the U.S. dollar was a good move for both countries, Gary Shilling says don't believe it. The economist who saw the subprime crisis coming warms that the move isn't what it appears to be, and says it will have a number of unintended consequences.